Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1887-02-10
Curious superstitions Of the Hindoos Concern
Them-Ihe Balefu Bat and the Cunning
Erana

get a glimpse of a white owl during the
daytime. The crow bears the same evil
teputationsin India as in other counties,
its cry thrice repeated being sure token
of death But in some parts crow OF
raven cawing only once on the lert OF
young woman is held as sign that her
lover is coming 20 meet her. The name
of the bat is never utterad al night by
the common people, the belief being that
the utterer would soon lose all his prop
erty. In the villages it is believed that
if pregnant woman is sitting on the
house roof and sees bat fly over her
head she will never be delivered of her
child until the same bird passes over her
head.
A curious legend about the chakwa or
Brahmini duck is found all over India
For some indlscretion two lovers were
turned into Brahmiui ducks and con-
demned to pass the night apart from
each other on opposite banks of river
All night long each asks in its turn If 1T
shall Join its mate, and the answer is al
ways no.
"Chakwa, shall l GOMEZ"
"No, Chakwi."
"Chakwi, shall / conner"
mo, Chakwa."
The Chakor, or Indian red-legged par
fridge, which is found all over the Hima-
layas (the hen lays from ten TO fifteen
epcs) is said to be enamored of the moyn
and to eat fire Mt the full possibly
of the fact from it's seeming to hover
about the moon. The appearance of the
chatak, a small bird is held to pressage
good shower of rain, the bird living
only on rain drops and was always crying
for them.
The peacock is said TO scream and
dance with Joy at the sound of thunder,
and he dances, dances on; when he looks
down he weeps adon' lat the sight of his
ugly feet, they say. The peacock is
credited with strong thievish propensi-
ties, it appears from this saying: Tine
deer, the monkey, the partridge, and the
peacock rob the field of its store" Any
thing that betrays itself is likened to "a
peacock in the thief's house''-a saying
founded on the story of peacock which
swallowed gold necklace brought home
by thief.
This bird is sacred to the Hindoo god
ofsbeauty, who is represented as riding on
it.
The kite, the hawk and the yulture are
all regarded as very unluckY birds. The
schreeching of the first brings serious
misfortune, the sight of the second fam
inc and oppression, and the approach of
the third death. BY whirling kite
around the head of a Muslin child ON
Tuesday or Saturday and then letting it
go, great blessings are insured to the lit
tie one. Fowlers trade on this supersti-
ton. Kites sometimes carry off gold
] or 70 n o a ~ "
| the reason is because the young kites will
not open their eyes until gold is placed
in the nest; hence the saying, "The phil
| osopher's stone in the kites nest"
! The half-mythical gdrpda, q kind of
eagle, sometimes called adjutant," is the
mortal enemy of snakes. The legend
goes that the mother of garuda quarreled
with her sister, who was the mother of
the snakes, respecting the color of the
horse that was produced at the churning
of the ocean; and since that time there
has been constant enmity between thsir
descendants. When garuda was mar
! riag, the serpents, alarmed at the thought
of his having children who might destroy
! them, made a fierce attack on him; but
he slew them all, save one, which he has
| since worn as an ornament around his
neck. TO this day superstitious Hindoos
repeat the uame of garuda three times
when walking in their fields, and before
| going to sleep at night, as a safeguard
| against snakes.
! The crane is considered TO be the most
cunning of all birds. 1t places itself
| quietly by pool, apparently absorbed in
meditation till it sees a fish to dart upon.
! So the word "crane" has become synony-
nous with "hypocrite, traitor" etc, in
Sanskrit and the languages derived from
! it. A crane is said to have betrayed the
| hiding place of one of the Pandava broth
ers whose adventures are described in
the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata. The
| pigeon is thought to be auspicious. Pig
cons are carefully raised in houses, which
they are believed to preserve from de-
! cay. The dove is looked upon as har-
binger of good luck. The sight of a
pair of doves by young married lady
whose husband is away from home means
that he viii return soon.
/ There is woman's saying that cuck-
oo's note heard on the right is an ex-
\ cellent omen; and yet the cuckoo is held
to be an unlucky bird in most parts of
/ India. The papiya, of the parrot species
is said to cry "My eye is going"-from
the legend that once man, seeing many
wicked deeds done before his eyes, died
uttering these words, and was transform
ed into the bird. Superstitious people
are afraid to do anything wrong before q
/ papiya, lest it should betray them. One
little bird bears the curious designation
''the bird of the lost money" because it
seems to utter in low voice onething
that means "Oh! huye you kept or have
/ kept it,
There is a tradition that its first an
cestors we're man and wife, who, hay-
ing lost al! their wealth died heart-brok-
en- and were transformed into birds The
country folk believe that if you jingle
money before them they will curse you
believing it to be their own.
Couldn't Make il Out